lisa lisa. lisa . the countdown to the next winter olympics begins is exactly one year until russia hosts its first ever winter games the promise to become the most unique and the most expensive in history. and not all officials want to celebrate removed russia's president lashes out at overspending and sacks a key figure behind the twenty fourteen. us military killing machine is set for a boost as an architect of america's drone strategy faces a confirmation hearing to be head of the cia. and growing

anger in tunisia the prime minister pledges to reshuffle the government following the assassination of an opposition leader his own islamist party rejects the plan. well news and comments twenty four hours a day you're watching r.t. i'm carrie johnston. well it's now exactly one year until the opening of the twenty fourteen winter olympic games in russia special giant clocks in the country's biggest cities have begun the countdown for the event that will be held in the black sea resort city of sochi and the clock is also ticking for the organizers who say final preparations are on track and finishing touches are being done to make the games on forgettable authorities are also keeping

a close eye on how work is being completed before sort she becomes host to hundreds of thousands of sportsmen and women and guests from around the globe russian president vladimir putin has been personally checking the olympic venues and said he was genuinely happy about what he saw and then he did have some harsh criticism at times. takes a story. this is a very exciting time for russians especially for those living in tsotsi with just one year left before the games are said to start eighty percent of all the news are official numbers are saying are already completed and you have to understand this is a very unique a limb pick games this is the first time the first games there are taking place in the sub tropical area never before has it been done also you have to understand look at this this is february and we as were edging closer to the games you have to understand this is going to be a very unique event because literally you have the beach and then fifteen minutes

drive you have the snow capped mountains so if you're tired of watching snowboarding or skiing events you can always take a break down by the beach and possibly work on your town as well so you can see it right there snow and then the beach now of course the president was insulted to a look at the construction and what's happening down there on the ground and he was pretty much happy with everything his saw but there were some things that he heard that did not leave him very happy and also of course did not leave some of the officials happy as well as many of you are the really cost overruns yes a serious increase in costs but since they use their influence for the construction phones. is financed by the funds it. is the shareholder of principle you know. so it's largely finance at the expense of yes and these cost overruns are paid for by sperm bank yes it's spending one of the costs of this whole facility question what's the overall ability and usually be recessing the amount of. what's

a rough estimate. of. one point two billion. in one point two billion has turned into eight billion yes well done good work let's move on. and of course the russian president was being sarcastic. point in fact the man who is responsible for the cost overruns and the delays and work has been sacked but still the person . that's still the process of the construction continues and are to his very own farmer he has all the details from saatchi. piece by piece a limp dick dream is coming together continues around the clock but with a year to go things are shaping up in the company in charge of construction has a simple message despite building everything from scratch russia will be ready for national. training facilities are ready practically all of them of host of test

competitions all hotels in the olympic villages are in the final phase of construction being referred wished unfurnished the show jewels to open in the autumn. but it cheating this goal has come at a staggering price tasting these games is costing around fifty billion dollars making them the most expensive in the olympic history they cost ten times more than the last winter games in vancouver and ten billion dollars more than the beijing summer games however the results can already be seen they are impressive if you do take a quick look around you can see what money can buy at the center of the limping which is six venues all within a stone's throw of each other to host the curling the skating and the ice hockey and this is the june in the crown the bolshoi i stay inside this hockey arena it's prestigious i'm ready to use. the under eighteen world championships in april going

to keep does an international event that will test. before the games begin the slogan for saatchi twenty fourteen is hot because the park is down by the blocks in case there i'm cold because all the alpine events will take place in just forty kilometers away. it is a similar story there. not much was paid before but there also. has sprung up from nowhere to become. the. linking the so-called mountain increase the cost has not been easy five hundred kilometers of lines have been laid and they have transformed infrastructure. has undergone a huge change in just six years the transformation easy most complete the black sea resort believes he can and will deliver against remember this time next year.

on the news now it's going to be a battle between the north and the south of the e.u. meeting in brussels state sort of collision course over spending plans for next few years britain is the loudest voice among those calling for a budget cut something fiercely opposed by southern countries and we dependent on you funds. reports now from brussels. there's bickering even before they actually sit down of the negotiation table and if we were to divide it to simplify the vickery going on right now it would be between northern and southern countries you could say the wealthier nations versus those that actually depend more on the e.u. funding on the one hand you have countries like the u.k. germany the netherlands denmark these countries are supporting harsher cuts to the

e.u. budget david cameron being the most radical and controversial taking this step now he has been demanding since november of last year in two thousand and twelve that was the first today is the second since that until now he's been demanding for cuts in brussels bureaucracy for instance he wants to reduce payments officials here and this has not gone down well with brussels officials he also wants to reduce their pensions for instance but on the other side you have those countries who are dependent on these forums and one of the loudest voices on this is of france now he is saying and pointing a finger at the u.k. say they want cuts but at the same time they are very protective of the so-called rebate this is the money that the u.k. gets back from the e.u. as a return for their payments on farm subsidies which the u.k. does not benefit from and which france benefits a lot from you can see a lot of the national interests coming here to the forefront so france well it's certainly not happy with what if you read between the lines would say hypocritical

taken by the u.k. and that rebate is worth three point five billion euros and first of all it is seen to be wanted to tackle that point also the u.k. is coming into this summit this is the first time since he had an announced that out referendum that he said that he would pose the question of whether he should remain in the e.u. twenty seven reelected twenty eight fifteen of course this is a possibility of a creating even more tension in the u.k. with the cost benefit of actually being a member of the e.u. interpreted by the other members. not being a team player in this regard. and also as this talk is happening talking about budget cuts at the e.u. level we see the budget cuts on a more local ground level we've seen the protests continuing even until today people very angry at the. imposed on them on their livelihoods of their pensions are on their potential jobs while the e.u. cannot agree upon

a budget of their own. but reveal the politicians they say are responsible for the financial turbulence in the e.u. . is george osborne lying i mean that's the question is he just lying bald faced lie is he telling the british people i am george osborne i'm a despicable liar i lied to you i tell you that i'm going to prosecute bankers i've never prosecuted bankers the bankers have their hands in my pockets i'm completely conflicted i take bribes i'm a liar my name is george osborne i lie i'm a liar my name is george osborne and i lie i'm a liar my name is george osborne and i live. now from a drone strikes to torture techniques tough questions are ahead for barack obama's nominee for the cia and his confirmation hearing in the senate john brennan is widely seen as not detect of u.s.

drone strategy an effort to avoid scrutiny around the brain scanning the sea u.s. president has even agreed to when there's a question for documents on the killing of american terror suspects abroad so after years of keeping it secret it's all tiscali to the kind of courts confirmation broaden horizons for america's drone fleets. in the shadows no more drones are moving into the mainstream drone makers in the u.s. military pushing to defend the killing machine drones are more properly titled remotely piloted vehicles allow us to do is to project capability without projecting vulnerability in their revolutionising we're. allowing us to see. from the way a major drone manufacturer lockheed martin has financed an hour long documentary on drones aired recently on u.s. public television counting the technological capabilities of the killing machine

from trailers like this pilots of the predator and its larger cars. have killed thousands of individual since two thousand using remotely piloted aircraft come. to popular belief actually provides the greatest degree of ethical oversight for their use of this young man in pakistan he would probably disagree several of his family members died at the remote chance of a grown up more than a thousand other civilians were reportedly killed by u.s. drone strikes in pakistan and yemen we find ourselves murdering people in many cases children with no evidence whatsoever that they're involved in any criminal or terrorist activity so the numbers should not come as a surprise considering the broad definition the obama administration gives us to who should be on their kill list the leaked memo uncredited assassinations on the us justice department suggest the us government can kill people even without evidence that they are actively plotting against america if you extend the logic or

studio logic being proud by the white house now where you come. live a few might say that we're in danger of going over we're getting very close to zero thought crimes that if somebody a u.s. citizen or otherwise is believed to be thinking something that could lead to actions against the united states then this illogical logic would present the idea that it would be ok for the president to order that that person be killed despite the u.n. raising concerns about the legality of the use of drones the u.s. is said to expand its remote control warfare setting up new drone bases across the world and the latest announcement a new facility in asia where obama has redefined war during intervention in libya he made the case that the war powers act in a pride because there is no risk to american soldiers and so under that rationale he can expand the global war while in his state of the union address claiming that

we don't need perpetual war for peace but it is perpetual war when you can drop bombs on any country and then claim that it's not working john brennan often referred to as the architect of the administration's drone war how it's the new opportunities for the u.s. to wage wars without risking american lives there's another reason a targeted strikes can be a wise choice to strategic consequences that inevitably come with the use of force . as we have seen deploying large armies abroad won't always be our best offense all in all the u.s. now has around ten thousand drones in its fleet not all of them carry weapons of course a lot of them are for surveillance both domestic and international there's a great push both from the administration and the drone makers to present them as america's next best thing john brennan if confirmed will soon be at the helm of the cia and no one doubts that under him the program will expand even further the goal is pretty much clear to be able to control the world with

a remote control in washington i'm going to. well tonight a country with armrests some of the heaviest fighting in months as erupted in the syrian capital levels are attempting to take control of the approach to the city center of facing heavy government resistance despite both sides saying they're willing to negotiate. and in britain a private messages sent between internet users to be decoded and monitored the government says it's to keep the country safe and stories just ahead for you. now in tunisia anti-government protests are increasingly turning into violent clashes with police in the capital security forces used tear gas to disperse crowds at the interior ministry and earlier in the southern city of gas hundreds of demonstrators threw stones and chanting slogans that is waver we can rest was on leash by the assassination truck you need a secular opposition leader and

a longtime critic of it is the most dominating government in one of the political crisis in the country is deepening relink is missed part checked in the prime minister's move to dissolve the government and women into cabinet in the wake of assassination little analyst danny markey told art that it's now too late to reshuffle the target to say the situation. this is a calculus for more violence and the war on iraq even easier of course unity with the hope of the arab spring we're only going area where you have the arab street is so politicized that any small change of course you can create content in hatred ridden society and this is essentially very museum out where you have mass protests against the government we have many calls for the government to resign you have outraged public outrage against its affiliation which has been deemed has been committed by. close links with the government this is being put out of the indian government but this really shows the arab spring not necessarily been

a force for change and good it has been. for aggression it has led to more backward policy and it showed the muslim brotherhood really happy with what they are and what they have done essentially replace the regime which they have supposedly overthrown and they have continued the same the same regressive and negative policies which have been undertaken by the previous us. and of course we're always eager to hear your views on the stories we cover at r.t. dot com head to our online poll let us know what you think the outcome of the latest about of these in protests will be well of course you've got four options to choose from let's have a look at how it's panned out today so far in terms of the voting. heavy go yes we can see now a third of those who already voted think that tunisia will plunge into further unrest around a quarter of you fear the latest upsurge of public unrest will lead to a government crackdown on protesters about the same amount to believe that the

country might see another revolution just a little less on the contrary i think that leadership is ready for political concessions or will have more news after a short break to stay with us here at r.t. . technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've got the future covered.

thank you with our team or world news pointed out the british government is considering using a so-called black boxes to monitor private citizens internet use they say in the interest of safety the move has been criticized as a point this invasion of privacy but in the car the deputy director of the big

brother watch organization says the new measures would do nothing to catch people who pose a real security threat. the u.k. government seems to think that it's necessary to monitor the communications of every person in great britain rather than actually looking for the people who are actually committing crimes they're going to drive those people further and further underground of the internet and they're only going to capture. the innocent and the incompetent as far as i'm concerned not by any means saying that communications data isn't important but when you have the director general of m i five talking about the evidence that was used to make their spill and calling it pretty horror assumptions that we've been made that the m i five obviously going to need this information and will react to this information if they're saying that this bill isn't based on fact it's based on fun see full. imitations of facts and this is why we need to go and have a very hard look at this bill get more evidence have

a much further in-depth consultation to actually get the facts about what is needed and how it can be done. south korean internet megahit gangnam style it seems to be facing some competition from. showing up on the web wasn't just for fun for the palestinian creators on this video clip full story it's not. just easing the preflight nerves and getting into the holiday mood with drink may soon become illegal in russia the government is now considering a ban on alcohol consumption on passenger planes after a series of in-flight rules. used today. these are the images the world.

can. corporations are the day. syria's capital damascus has witnessed some of its most intense clashes in months rebels attacked government forces in an attempt to seize control of key approaches to the city center the fighting came despite an opposition leader. to negotiate with the present deputy government could also be willing to talk as according to iran foreign minister was quoted. however there are splits within the opposition that makes debility unlikely even if they do bring down i say so says syria tribune editor in chief i mean mohammed. you just i mean it's just like. the nicer ones did. not really have come out actually.

because they know they cannot control it so not be because lucian is dreaming you believe that they can control the group talk to the top leader division in the afternoon and the most important point is these are the princes and will if you created people they are not full of issues they are not fighters for freedom they are just work princes and the coalition will only be able to do what its founder and me in finding things. to do and if they don't do that they will lose the financing of the support so they have to do this and simply have they don't know how to hold and they cannot because they are not united and they don't have the same view was so it's a big mess. moscow is denying claims by tokyo that two russian fighter jets entered japanese airspace just off the northern island of hokkaido tokyo an

official protest in connection with the alleged intrusion last of less than a minute unscented only combat jets to meet what was said to be su twenty seven jets a russian military spokesman confirmed the pacific navy fleet work performing fair deal flights in the area but no violation of airspace took place simran stone type and just a year ago then japan scrambled its fighter jets when several russian planes flew close to its territory and later admitted they did not breach its airspace. other international news headlines for you in grief now iran's supreme leader ayatollah khomeini is rejected the u.s. offer of direct talks over its nuclear program saying the two countries cannot negotiate and tehran has a gun pointed out if it comes just a day after washington tightened economic sanctions on iran. restricting trash from oil production u.s.

vice president joe biden made the offer of want to one discussions last saturday. leader of hamas says he's in talks with palestinian president mahmoud abbas about forging a coalition government. mention that both parties are getting ready ahead of the measure in presidential elections a massive push the first time it went ahead by a bass out of the gaza strip in two thousand and seven conflict between the two sides. wildfires in australia are making their way across the south of tasmania but emergency services are bracing for worse to weather conditions authorities have called on some locals to move from inaccessible there is still the danger has passed its latest wave of comes after bush was the story very much a part of his last. will come your way our special report on how video games can affect your state of mind stay with us for that.

good lumber tour. was able to build a huge most sophisticated robot which on fortunately doesn't give a darn about anything too much mission to teach me the creation of why you should care about humans and. this is why you should care.

they meet to kill each other online it's nothing personal just business. a whole industry has emerged to encourage gamers to take part in large tournaments

the same and even sponsorships await the cyber athletes who. have already. number of gamers around nine million people in some two to three years there will be around fourteen million of them. from kiev so deeply immersed in online games that force is the only way to get him to pay attention. for these people the real world is simply not enough so they bring the diversions of virtual reality into their real life. my wife maria. i deal with the weapons psychologists and psychiatrists argue whether or not the human mind can be affected by computer games and if so which part of the brain is responsible. actions

have a very negative impact on a person this is the same in the cortex is responsible for developing addictions we don't know yet to what extent. zone and christina both twenty two met through online gaming during a tournament called point blank she played against sergei but couldn't beat him using a keyboard mouse but she managed to defeat him offline while he was in the game christina turned out to be stronger and. we started talking.